to think wrongly that someone or something is another person or thing
Many people mistake me for my older brother.
He mistook the salt for sugar and ruined the soup.
✦ From Old Norse ‘mistaka’ meaning “take wrongly”. The verb entered Middle English in the 14th century.
to understand something wrongly or give it the wrong meaning
Please don’t mistake my silence as disapproval.
She mistook the directions and ended up at the wrong address.
✦ Same Old Norse root as other senses, with meaning extended to wrong understanding by the 17th century.
